Bo-Bo Knows He's Top Dog

File this one under surreal.

Earlier this week, I got an email from Dogster in response to my December blog post about losing Bo. The email started like so:

Hi Catherine,

I was just browsing through your blog, and wanted to send my condolences for your lost of Bo-Bo.

I too have lost a dog once, and it was horrible, but a very rewarding experience : )

Any-who, I work for Dogster.com, the top pet community destination on the Internet. We have a breed page with over 2800 greyhound members...

The letter goes on to explain why my linking to Dogster.com is a good idea. And I'm not saying it's not. I want to be clear here: I have no problem with dog sites--love them. But I do have a problem with this letter. Two, in fact:

1. It would appear this gentleman hasn't actually read more than a line of my blog. Because that particular post wasn't about losing Bo--bite your dog-wagging tongue, Mr. Dogster!--but about how my husband and I, through a Herculean overhaul of out diet and exercise plans, have literally shed the equivalent of a Bo's worth of ugly fat.
2. If my post HAD been about Bo going to that meaty cornucopia in the sky, and this was an actual, live condolence email, in what universe would a smile emoticon have any place in that note? Not to mention changing topic to his request with a flippant "any-who." Seriously?? He might as well have written:

Hey, I know you just lost the only thing that ever loved you more unconditionally than your mother, but ANY-WHO could you do me a solid and link to my Web site? You know. Between sobs.

And then today. Same sweet, but misguided, guy sends a second email. Today he's writing to tell me that I've won an "award of recognition for being an awesome resource for dog owners/lovers!" Well, that's sweet. And yes, my blog may touch on things greyhound occasionally, but in recent memory, I've also spent a month groaning about boot camp with Jillian Michaels and promising to blog my way through Walden before losing the plot somewhere amid the holiday hustle. In other words, my blog's about me, and enjoying my dog just happens to be one of my favorite things about being me, so he comes up from time to time.

So given that I've done nothing to earn this award, I clearly can't actually accept it for myself, but I will accept it for Bo. Because since retirement, the only other prize he's received was a first-place ribbon for softest fur at the Greyhound Expo a few years back, and I have to tell you--that thing screamed consolation prize (he was simply too dainty to be anything resembling a threat in the hot-dog-eating contest).

So congrats, Bo! Dogster.com recommends you for reasons that have nothing to do with me or the content on my blog, I'm sure. Though I have to warn you, they might strip your award when they see how I've chosen to present it to the world. Except they won't. See it, I mean. Because they're not actually reading my blog. We've been over this.

Find more dog info here!